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Hierarchically Microstructured Dielectric Liquid Crystal Colloid Elastomers with Low-Voltage Actuation and Programmable Deformation
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DOI：10.1002/adfm.202522271.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are outstanding electro-mechanical soft transducers for artificial muscles and robotics, owing to their favorable combination of high-speed, large stroke, and high energy density. However, their applicability for practical engineering applications has been severely overshadowed by three issues of high driving electric fields (20–200 V µm−1), rigid supporting frames, and single-mode deformation. Here, a novel engineering platform that leverages liquid-crystal-colloidal self-assembly to create dielectric liquid crystal colloid elastomers (DLCCEs) with hierarchically honeycomb-cell-like microstructures is presented, which can overcome the above-mentioned issues. The hierarchically honeycomb-cell-like microstructures within DLCCEs can function as internal barrier layer capacitors, effectively enhancing the dielectric constant (16.12 at 1 kHz). DLCCE actuators (DLCCEAs) demonstrate low actuation threshold of electric field (≈0.6 V µm−1), fast actuation (≈0.07 s), and recovery (≈0.05 s) response, broad bandwidth of driving frequency (0.1–200 Hz), multimodal deformations (e.g., directional bending, chiral twisting, helical deformations) and in-situ reconfigurable shape morphing, which are largely inaccessible to previously reported DEAs. The unconventional engineering platform, based on the self-assembly of liquid crystal colloids, enables the hierarchical construction of micro-structured composite DEAs, which offer new opportunities for developing advanced electro-driven soft-matter robotics.
Keywords:
dielectric liquid crystal colloid elastomers
hierarchical microstructures
liquid-crystal-colloidal self-assembly
low-voltage actuation
programmable deformation
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19
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3.4W
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32.1W
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